Sensex closes 98 points up; banking stocks tank

Mumbai, July 17 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Wednesday closed 98 points or 0.49 percent up on the hope of better earnings season and global cues.

Good buying was seen in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables and IT sectors; while baking index (bankex) tanked substantially followed by metal and auto sectors.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,928.95 points, closed at 19,948.73 points, up 97.50 points or 0.49 percent from the previous day's close at 19,851.23 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 19,983.22 points and a low of 19,778.54 points intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended 0.30 percent or 18.05 points up at 5,973.30 points.

The S&P BSE FMCG index shot up by 242.56 points, consumer durables index increased by 68.46 points and IT index moved up by 68.26 points. However, bankex tanked by 297.09 points, metal index dropped by 139.05 points and auto index slipped by 81.43 points.

The major Sensex gainers were: Hindustan Unilever, up 9.86 percent at Rs.684.75; NTPC, up 3.18 percent at Rs.147.70; Wipro, up 2.96 percent at Rs.386.45; and ITC, up 2.28 percent at Rs.368.35.

The major losers were: Tata Steel, down 3.26 percent at Rs.243.25; HDFC Bank, down 2.36 percent at Rs.662.65; ICICI Bank, down 2.29 percent at Rs.980.20; and Mahindra & Mahindra, down 2.23 percent at Rs.892.65.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei went up by 0.11 percent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up by 0.28 percent and the South Korean KOSPI was up by 1.13 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index was down by 1.01 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 2.69 percent up; Germany's DAX Index was up by 17.40 percent and the French CAC 40 Index was up by 14.43 percent.